Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Actuators and Motors—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

High-frequency and ultra-high-frequency piezoelectric actuators and motors represent a dynamically evolving research frontier, garnering sustained attention due to their unique advantages: compact form factor, rapid transient response, nanometric positioning resolution, manufacturing scalability, electromagnetic interference immunity, and inherent self-locking capability under static conditions. Over the recent 5–10 years, technological advancements in high/ultra-high-frequency piezoelectric drive technologies have witnessed exponential growth, positioning them as pivotal enabling components for applications in micro-robotics, adaptive optics systems, nanoscale manufacturing, and extreme operational scenarios (e.g., aerospace navigation, deep-sea robotic exploration, and high-field magnetic environments). Despite these progresses, critical technical challenges remain, including tribological wear at contact interfaces, thermal management under high-frequency excitation, velocity instability at low operating frequencies, material aging effects, service life limitations, and system reliability under harsh conditions.​

This Special Issue aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogues among academic researchers and industrial innovators, providing a comprehensive platform to disseminate cutting-edge concepts, recent theoretical insights, and practical achievements related to, but not confined to, the following focus areas:​

• Innovative operating principles and structural designs for high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency piezoelectric actuators/motors, including novel vibration mode utilization and energy conversion mechanisms;
• Multi-degree-of-freedom (multi-DOF) ultrasonic motor systems integrated with high-frequency drive capabilities, emphasizing decoupling control and kinematic optimization;
• Physics-based modeling frameworks, adaptive control algorithms, and intelligent system architectures for high-frequency piezoelectric drive systems;
• Engineering applications of high/ultra-high-frequency piezoelectric actuators in extreme environments, covering thermal/vacuum compatibility, radiation resistance, and hermetic design methodologies;
• Theoretical foundations and experimental characterizations of high-frequency piezoelectric-fluid coupling vibration control, including fluid–structure interaction modeling and resonance suppression techniques;
• Microfluidic precision jetting technologies enabled by high-frequency piezoelectric actuation, addressing nozzle geometry optimization, droplet ejection dynamics, and closed-loop control for biomedical, industrial printing, and lab-on-a-chip applications.

Dr. Kai Li
Dr. Lu Zhang
Guest Editors

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